Osseo Maple Grove Football Association

The following are the important August OMGFA Jr. High events:

• August 8-11, 6:30-8pm: Voluntary Mini-Camp  Improve your skills, get acclimated to your helmet, get a jump on getting into "Football shape" at this 4-day Mini-Camp at OSH Practice Fields.  We will also assign football jersey numbers this week.  We understand that families may have vacation scheduled this week, therefore, this Mini-Camp is voluntary.  Although we highly recommend that all registered players attend, you will not be penalized for not being there.  Mini-Camp runs Monday through Thursday.  Please come equipped with helmet, t-shirt, shorts and cleats.    
• August 15th, 6:30-7pm: Parent's Meeting, OSH Stadium  Meet the Jr. High Coaches and get critical information at the Parent's Meeting.
• August 15th, 6:30-8pm: Practice Starts  Formal practice will start on August 15th.  Throughout August we will practice Monday through Thursday from 6:30-8pm at the OSH Practice Fields.  Monday and Tuesday of the first week, we will practice in helmets, t-shirt, shorts and cleats.  Wednesday we will add shoulder pads and Thursday will be our first full pad practice. Throughout the rest of August we will practice in full pads.
• August 27th, 8am: Jamboree/Picture Day  The Jr. High teams will have the honor of being first up for pictures on Saturday, August 27th, starting at 8am.  
• August 27th, Time TBA: Anoka Scrimmage/St. Jude Benefit  We are planning on participating in our first scrimmage also on the 27th.  Anoka will be hosting a scrimmage series, with the concessions to benefit St. Jude.  A worthy cause and our first taste of true game situations.  Times will be announced during practice and in a later e-mail message.

Game Schedule

Although we do not yet have the game schedule from NSFL, we have reserved the OSH Stadium every Sunday in September and October for home games.  Considering the fact that the OSH Stadium offers an all weather field turf surface, we have asked that we be granted as many 'Home' games as possible and have even offered to allow other NSFL teams to play on our neutral field.  In addition, we have asked that all three of our teams' games be scheduled back-to-back on Sunday afternoons/evenings.  This being said, it is still possible that we could have "Away" games scheduled on either Tuesday or Thursday evenings.  As soon as we receive the final game schedule, we will forward it to everyone.  We expect this to happen in the first or second week of August.

Practice Schedule

As noted above and described further on the attached schedule, we plan to practice on Monday-Thursday throughout August.  In September, this schedule could change based on the Game Schedule.  More to come on that.  You can expect that practice times will also change in September to 6-7:30pm, due to diminishing daylight.  In October, we will again adjust the practice time to 5:30-7pm.  

Team Formation

We plan to field three Jr. High teams this year.  

· 7th Grade Unlimited: No weight restrictions

· 8th Grade Unlimited: No weight restrictions

· 7th & 8th Grade Lites: All players limited to 130 lbs. max. 

Please understand, the 'Lites" team IS NOT a "B Team"!!  This league is VERY competitive and many of the best HS 'skills' players come out of this division.  This division gives kids under 130 lbs a place to thrive on a level playing field against players their own size.  We have a number of boys under 100 lbs in both 7th and 8th Grade who would be best served by this division.  It will be challenging for 7th Graders, 'playing up' against 8th Graders and an additional opportunity for our 8th Graders to show/grow leadership skills and build confidence.

This is the first time that OMGFA has fielded a "Lites" team.  In addition to those listed above, there are a couple of other reasons we have come to this decision:   

· Differences in player weights at this age can sometimes be extreme, due simply to the differing growth rates/stages.  Particularly in 8th grade, we have players under 100 pounds and we also have players at 200+ pounds.

· With our current numbers, this would put ~20-25 players on each team and allow us to balance our goal of providing maximum playing time with fielding competitive teams and providing the best opportunity for success to our young men.

· All players over 130 lbs must play in the Unlimited divisions.  We will have flexibility to move kids under 130 lbs in and out of the Lites division to gain more playing time, although we will work to designate a 15-17 player core team of 'Lites' players.

The basis for decision on team formation will be accomplished as follows:

1.     Player Weight: Again, players over 130 pounds must play in the Unlimited divisions.  Players under 130 pounds will be encouraged to play in the "Lites" division.  This being said, the Unlimited division teams will need a number of players under 130 pounds to man 'skill' positions.  

2.     Parental Preference: The Coaches will assign each player under 130 pounds to either the "Lites" or "Unlimited" Division Teams based on where we believe the individual player will have the best chance of success.  This said, if a parent has a strong preference as to which division you would like your son to play in, please let us know.  Your preference will be taken into consideration.

3.     Guaranteed Minimum 'Unlimited' Playing Time:  If "Lites" vs. "Unlimited" playing time becomes a major issue, we will implement a guaranteed minimum 'unlimited' playing time of 2 games per player.

We need additional assistant coaches.  If you are interested in helping out, please contact me.

Hopefully, this information, at a minimum, allows you to plan your August.  If you have any questions or concerns, please contact the OMGFA 7th/8th Grade Director:

Brian Williams